The present invention relates generally to printers which are configured to print labels, tags or the like, and more specifically relates to a printer which is configured to print labels, tags or the like and provides many advantages over the prior art.
It is advantageous to prevent printer downtime, or at least keep downtime to a minimum. Oftentimes, printers which print labels, tags or the like, such as barcode printers, are used in mission-critical applications. In such circumstances, when a printer goes down, it can be quite costly. For example, if a printer configured to print shipping labels runs out of ribbon or otherwise becomes effectively non-functional, it is possible that several hundred boxes will be placed into inventory without identification. In this case, every hour that the system or printer is unavailable can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in lost productivity. Hence, it is advantageous to prevent printer downtime, and in mission-critical applications, it is generally economically imperative.
Prior art printers are not configured to automatically notify someone, such as an Information Technology (IT) manager who may not be located in close proximity to the printer, when there is a problem. As such, to keep downtime to a minimum, it is imperative to continually monitor a printer on site, and even then downtime may be substantial. For example, in the case where there is an assembly line with an industrial barcode printer at the end of the assembly line, and the ribbon of the printer runs out, the operators on the assembly line may or may not notice right away that the printer has run out of ribbon. Once the problem has finally been detected, it may take awhile for the new ribbon to be located and installed in the printer, resulting in substantial downtime for the assembly line.
Some prior art printers have a web-server therein which provides that an IT manager can remotely view a web page that contains some basic information about the printer. However, these prior art printers do not provide for the unsolicited transmission of critical and non-critical printer data and the routing of that data through a plurality of communication channels to an IT manager. For example, these printers do not automatically send important printer data to an IT manager via e-mail, an Internet-ready pager, a Personal Communications Service (PCS) phone or a wireless Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), thereby enabling the IT manager to respond to a problem or potential problem immediately, even though the IT manager may not have been actively monitoring the printer at the time. Instead, printers which have a web server therein are configured such that the IT manager must pro-actively monitor the printer and use a device which supports JAVA, such as a personal computer, to check on the status of the printer. Furthermore, even if a problem is detected by the IT manager in this manner, these printers do not provide that the IT manager can thereafter correct the problem by remotely interfacing with the printer. For example, prior art printers also do not provide that an IT manager can remotely access and modify a program which is operating within a printer's operating system. Therefore, if a change needs to be made to the program, the IT manager must access the program in the printer on site, using a computer connected to the printer's serial or parallel port, and this process must be repeated for each printer which the IT manager wants to re-program.
Still further, prior art printers do not provide that an IT manager can view and modify a label format from a remote location. Printers which are adapted to print labels, tags and the like, do so according to a pre-determined, pre-programmed format. For example, a printer which is configured to print shipping labels may be configured to print a shipping label in a format wherein the shipping company's logo, name and address is printed in the upper, left-hand corner of the label and the receiving company's name and address is printed at the center of the label. If the format of the label is to be changed (for example, if the shipping company's logo or address has changed), the IT manager must change the label format on site. After changing the label format, the IT manager typically has the printer print a label to determine whether the label looks acceptable. If not, the IT manager changes the format again, and has the printer print another label. This trial and error process may have to be repeated several times and may take a substantial amount of time. Additionally, if the IT manager wants to change the label format for several printers, the IT manager must repeat the process for each printer.
A still yet further object of the present invention is to provide a printer which is configured such that printer settings can be viewed and modified from a remote location, and thereafter can be downloaded to the printer and/or to other printers in a network.
Briefly, and in accordance with at least one of the foregoing objects, an embodiment of the present invention provides a printer which is configured to print labels, tags or the like, where the printer includes a housing and electronics in the housing configured to determine a condition of the printer (such as a printer error or warning condition) and thereafter automatically transmit data corresponding to the condition to a remote location, such as over an Intranet, the Internet and/or over a wireless communication network. Preferably, the printer transmits the data via e-mail, to an Internet-ready paging device, to a Personal Communications Service (PCS) phone and/or to a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). By providing that the printer automatically transmits printer data, an IT manager can be alerted to a problem (i.e. warning condition or printer error) in the printer, and the IT manager can immediately take steps to correct the problem. Preferably, the printer is configured such that at least some problems can be corrected by the IT manager from the remote location by interfacing with the printer. However, some problems may require on site correction (such as if the printer is out of paper).
Preferably, the printer is programmable and controllable from a remote location over an Intranet, the Internet and/or over a wireless communication network. Preferably, the settings of the printer can be viewed and modified in this manner. Ideally, the printer is programmable and controllable using a web browser on a personal computer connected to an Intranet or to the Internet, and is configured to display web pages on a mobile device, such as a PDA or PCS phone.
Furthermore, preferably a label format which is stored in the printer can be viewed and modified from a remote location. Additionally, preferably the printer is configured such that a barcode rendering algorithm can be downloaded to the printer, preferably in the form of executable code.
Desirably, the printer is configured such it can control one or more peripheral devices in a stand-alone operation and acquire data, and can thereafter, without solicitation from a host, upload the data to the host (when the host is ready to receive the data) via e-mail or TCP/UDP Messaging. Preferably, the data is assembled into one or more databases and processed by the host in other applications.
Preferably, the printer is configured to transmit its settings to a remote location in XML format so that the printer settings are easy to read and are viewable using, for example, a web browser on a personal computer connected to the Intranet or the Internet. Thereafter, the settings can be modified and downloaded back to the printer, or can be downloaded to other printers in order to facilitate cloning. Preferably, the printer 10 is (and the other printers in the cloning process) are configured such that it parses out the data from the XML and re-sets its settings in accordance with the data which is parsed out of the XML.
Presently, there are many different barcode standards being used. Additionally, sometimes a barcode standard is changed (i.e. updated). Prior art barcode printers are configured such that an IT manager cannot remotely download a new or updated barcode rendering algorithm into the printer. Instead, prior art printers are typically sold having one or more barcode rendering algorithms resident therein and, in order to add or update a barcode rendering algorithm, an IT manager must obtain the necessary software, and load the new or updated barcode rendering algorithm into the printer on site, using a computer connected to the printer's serial or parallel port, and this process must be repeated for each printer. Additionally, prior art printers are not configured such that an IT manager can download a barcode rendering algorithm, such as from a printer manufacturer's web site, and thereafter download the barcode rendering algorithm to one or more printers.
Finally, prior art printers are not configured such that an IT manager can remotely access (i.e. upload) the settings of a printer, change the printer settings, and download the new printer settings to the printer or to other printers. Hence, the printer settings of prior art printers cannot be modified remotely, and prior art printers are not configured such that they can be cloned (i.e. to contain the same printer settings) quickly and easily from a remote location.